Gov. Chris Christie distorts facts to defend his tax plans

AMANDA BROWN/THE STAR-LEDGERAssemblyman Louis Greenwald shows paperwork with the Office of Legislative Service tax rate numbers to Assemblyman Samuel D. Thompson during a meeting of the Assembly Appropriations Committee in the Statehouse Annex in Trenton. The committee discussed the increase of the income tax rate on people making over 1 million dollars a year.The governor wants us to feel the pain that millionaires in New Jersey are experiencing. And if that means he has to distort the facts, well, it’s for a higher purpose. Millionaires have feelings, too.

Yesterday, members of the Senate budget committee voted to extend the surtax on incomes over $1 million, saying they were living up to the governor’s call for shared sacrifice during this crisis.

At the same time, the governor was standing before a podium in his office saying that the millionaires have sacrificed enough. In his mind, they are exempt this time around.

And then came this whopper: "These people paid over 35 percent of the tax burden, and they do right now."

No, governor. That figure counts only the income tax — which is designed to be progressive, so yes, it lands disproportionately on the wealthy. That’s the point.

But let’s not forget about the sales tax, which hits everyone. And never forget the property tax, the mother of all taxes and the one that is crushing middle-class families in this state.

Let’s take a look at the real facts. The Office of Legislative Services recently examined the combined burden of income and property taxes at different income levels. A typical family of four earning $40,000 last year paid 9.5 percent of its total income in these two taxes, while a family earning $1.2 million paid 10.1 percent — a rough equality.

Under the changes Christie has proposed, including the loss of property tax rebates, the burden would shift. That family earning $40,000 would pay 12.3 percent of its income, while the typical family earning $1.2 million would pay 9.2 percent, a significantly smaller portion.

The governor will veto the surtax, and Democrats don’t have the votes to override him. Sadly, that means we’ll have to cut roughly $640 million deeper than we otherwise would.

Those are the governor’s priorities, and he’s entitled to them. But none of us are entitled to our own facts. And the facts show that his budget plainly fails the test of shared sacrifice.